On the recordDecember 3, 2020
Mr. President, I was pleased that the Senate unanimously agreed yesterday to proceed to conference on the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. The NDAA is one of the most important pieces of legislation that we pass here every year. It is the bill that authorizes funding for our troops and lays out our defense priorities. Like the last two NDAAs, this year's bill focuses on restoring military readiness and ensuring that our Nation is prepared to meet threats posed by major powers like Russia and China. In November of 2018, the bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission released a report warning that our readiness had eroded to the point that we might struggle to win a war against a major power like Russia or China, and the Commission noted that we would be especially vulnerable if we were ever called on to fight a war on two fronts. Over the past 2 years, we have made real progress on restoring military readiness, but we still have more work to do. This year's National Defense Authorization Act continues our investment in ensuring that our military is prepared to meet current and future threats in any domain. Of course, no matter what weapons or tanks or planes we have, our greatest military resource will always be our men and women in uniform, and this year's NDAA invests in improving the quality of life for our military members and their families.…





